PWInsider had reported in October that Cena was slated to referee the match. Dave Meltzer reported in The Wrestling Observer that Cena was one of the names being considered for the role, with the others being Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Steve Austin.

The 2017 WWE Survivor Series takes place on November 19th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. New subscribers can sign up for the WWE Network today by clicking here and get their first month for free, which includes WWE Survivor Series and NXT Takeover: Wargames that same weekend.